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Niš Airport secures new flights

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Low cost airline to launch Niš flights

Niš Constantine the Great Airport, in Serbia’s south-east, is finalising negotiations with a low cost airline to launch flights to the city. The news comes just a month after the Serbian government designated Niš, which has had no scheduled flights for almost a year, as a future low cost hub. Bojan Avramović, the head of the Regional Development Agency has confirmed that talks with a low cost airline are in their final stages. While he refused to reveal the name of the airline, so as not to jeopardise the negotiating process, Mr. Avramović confirmed that flights will commence at the start of the 2015 summer season. “In the first half of September a signing ceremony will take place in Niš. By November we expect online ticket sales to begin with flights to be launched in late March next year”, Mr. Avramović said.

Over the past decade, Niš has been unsuccessfully served by the likes of Jat Airways, Montenegro Airlines, Darwin Airline and budget carrier WindJet, which operated flights from Forli to Niš. The city’s former mayor was subsequently arrested for signing a damaging subsidy agreement with the Italian low cost airline and is facing corruption charges. The head of the Regional Development Agency says no subsidies have been offered to the airport’s newest customer, rather, a single fee policy for all airlines has been created, be it low cost or full fare. “Over the past four months we have carried out all the necessary analysis and feasibility studies. Italy didn’t make the cut, let alone Forli. Italy is covered by flights to Switzerland while Malmo covers the Scandinavian region. The airline that will launch flights from Niš will operate to a main international airport in Europe from which the entire continent is served”. Mr. Avramović added that Niš Airport’s new fees and charges are competitive with those in Tuzla, Skopje and Sofia.

Questioned whether the national carrier Air Serbia will launch flights to the city, Mr. Avramović said, “We will see. Their ticket prices would be uncompetitive in Niš. Let us first start with this and then maybe Air Serbia will come too”. The Niš authorities are said to have been negotiating with two different low cost airlines, however, only one has been selected to launch flights to the city at first. Niš Airport was opened for commercial traffic in the late 1980s and served by JAT Yugoslav Airlines. The airport was hit on several occasions and damaged during the 1999 NATO bombing campaign of Yugoslavia. In 2003 it was reopened following extensive reconstruction and development. The Niš region has a catchment area of over one million people with a sizable Serbian diaspora originating from the country’s south-east.

If we are to think logically then the choice should come down to Ryanair or Wizz Air. I doubt it's the latter since they have a strong presence in the region (the Nis one). Nis is the perfect airport for Ryanair, desperate and with no commercial activity!

But if they are not offering subsidies I doubt Ryanair would start flights since they don't fly anywhere without being propped out. The guy said how Switzerland serves Italy and Malmo serves Scandianvia which could mean flights will be to one or the other. For some reason I think its Easy.

Well, they have been giving out subventions in the past so I don't see why it would be different this time around. Hmm I don't know if it would be easyJet, INI is not their kind of airport. Then again maybe easyJet Switzerland could pull it off, especially since they have announced summer flights.

Eventhough they were saying flights would start in November, maybe it is good to have flights in March, since it takes time for people to find out about those flights. And of course it is always good to kick off with good loads. People from the south, eventhough they are eager about those flights, still need time to inform about using the airport and especially about the low-cost concept. My guess is Charleroi.

Im sorry but you know all very well know this is not true. Just because the Nis city government cannot look after its own city is not the fault of Belgrade. The amount of corruption and bad choices done by YOUR government is not the fault of Belgrade.

If it wasnt for the growth in BEG, Nis Airport wouldnt get the donations it gets. Nis several years ago was recieving charter flights from London, and what happened to this? Belgrade stopped it? And Im sure Belgrade forced Nis Airport to give subsidies to YM for crappy flights via TGD. The millions of euros spent to finance WindJet and YM could of went for upgrading the facilities requested by LCC like Ryan Air, and by now there could of been regular flights from Nis, with or wihout subsidies. The best amount of effort coming from the people in Nis is to blame Belgrade and expect something.

And as for Air Serbia, less money will be spent on our budget each year to finance Air Serbia rather than the corruption and scandal filled Jat Airways. The money leaving our budget for Air Serbia is to repay the massive debts the former governments created in the 'family' business known as Jat Airways. Air Serbia is the reason why hundeds of unemployed youth now have a stable job and income they can spend at home insted of looking abroad for employment. Air Serbia is the reason why foreigners come to Belgrade and spend their money travelling on a Serbian carrier, buying products in Belgrade duty free, buying Serbian souvenirs, and maybe even visiting our country. Dont tell me that after 70% growth we didnt get anything. Its not sunshine and rainbows, blue skies and daisy filled fields with gumdrop trees, but its far from what it was and moving in the right direction.

who said anything about BEG or Beograd? this is about INI, and hopefully some good news for Niš. why are you defending BEG? not everything in Serbia revolves around Beograd, or at least it shouldn't. take some time to appreciate some potential good news for Southern Serbia. Cheers

The guys from Switzerland need W6 or U2 from BSL or a charter (sold through local agencies in CH like all ZRH-PRN flights) with LX/4T from ZRH. The most of them were pissed off with the TGD connectings. Italy won't succeed.

That guy said "The airline that will launch flights from Niš will operate to a main international airport in Europe from which the entire continent is served”If so, as everyone else is having his own guess here, I would put my bet on Ryanair to fly to Brussels Zaventem (main airport, connected with entire continent, they already have 10 routes flying from there).But time will show...Anyhow, I am glad INI will get alive again.

I would prefer FR. They have promo for first tickets at ridiculous price ( 1-10 EUR ). If so, I'll be first to buy tickets to anywhere no matter what route. Another reason is that all my flights where with airbus. I would like to try newer boeing.

Well maybe that is why the government should have concentrated on trying to find someone to help them develop that part of Serbia, instead of spending all the money and resources on an airline . Just a thought. I know this would bring up a whole new topic.

Are you seriously comparing Sofia to Nis? The capital city of Bulgaria with the third city of Serbia located in one of the poorest regions of Europe?As far as Skopje and Pristina go, they are the only international airports in their own respective countries or self-proclaimed countries so obviously there will be some movement.

@Anonymous from August 24, 2014 at 3:03 PMMany "subventions" were given to Montenegro, Windjet, etc. and it was such a wasted money. They would have been better if they invested that money into infrastructure - ILS for example instead. Hopefully, this time something better's gonna come out for INI.

Whoa.... enough of this too-poor-to-fly nonsense with regards to Nis. Have any of you Belgrade-centric armchair philosophers done any research as to how many buses leave Nis and the surrounding towns daily for Germany, Austria and Switzerland, just to name a few? Have you checked the prices and the passenger percentages?No, you are too busy telling everyone that south of the Belgrade tollbooth is horse country.INI will be a huge success and many of you will be taking Nis Express from Belgrade to fly and save money very soon. :)

As the recent past has shown, the problem is not in attracting airlines, the problem is in keeping them .... And here I don't I see reason to believe that history will do anything other than repeat itself.

Airlines will fly while ever subsidies or airport fee waivers are in place. The moment these disappear, so too will the airlines. The price sensitivity and elasticity of people travelling to /from NIS is such that a small increment in price, will result in demand disappearing overnight. They want airfares at bus fare prices ...Hence the economics of flying into NIS is extremely poor, underpinned only by state aid or airport fee waivers.... Watch this space ...

In most countries they are called "trolls". They are paid, or inspired (because they live in their mother's cellar) by those with an interest to keep Serbia and one-bus-stop-country.How many functioning airports does Bulgaria and Croatia have? Come again?What did everyone say about Tuzla 18 months ago???? :)

I'm pretty sure that if Ryanair begins flying from Nis that more than half of the passengers will never fly BEG again. It is obvious that everyone is looking for a cheap flights, and therefore many people today day cathcing FR fights from BUD even they have options from BEG.. No more BEG MONOPOLY! Bye, bye BEG! Welcome back INI! Wish is Ryan, fingers crossed!

You are soooo right, BEGs monopoly days are soon over.Nis Express will make a killing with Belgraders coming to INI for a great flight at bus fare prices.Let us welcome those from the Northern Territory. :)

if it's FR, then they will fly to Germany (BRE, HHN or NRN). after all, most people from SE Serbia that live abroad live in Germany, and from one of these three airports all major cities where Serbs live can be reached. plus, all three are FR's bases with many destinations served (BRE 17, HHN 32, NRN 25 all year destinations).

My bets are on Wizz Air, particularly in light of the article published on this blog on Aug. 2:

"Low cost airline Wizz Air has said it will continue monitoring developments at its base in Belgrade before making any decisions on its future operations in Serbia. The comments came after the Serbian government said this week it would help revive Niš Constantine the Great Airport in the country’s south-east which is currently not served by scheduled airlines and has few passengers. It has been suggested Wizz Air could potentially relocate its operations from Belgrade to Niš."